All About Green Coffee – Recipe, Benefits & Drawbacks

Coffee is drunk in a lot of different forms around the world. These types include black coffee, cold iced brew coffee, espresso, and more. However, the one type of coffee that is the most surprising is green coffee. We’ve all heard of green tea, but green coffee is something foreign to most of us. Well if you’ve never heard about this type of coffee, or if you’re curious about its benefits and drawbacks, here’s all about green coffee.

All About Green Coffee

What Is Green Coffee?

Green coffee is made from unroasted beans from the same coffee plant the other types of coffee come from. These beans are brewed in a very similar way and hold some similarities and some differences from regular coffee beans. It is called green coffee because unroasted coffee beans look green before roasting. This coffee is not easily available. While some stores carry it, most don’t. If you’re looking for good quality green coffee you will be better off getting a subscription for the coffee beans. You can contact local coffee sellers in your area to make sure the beans are as fresh as possible.

Easy Recipe to Make Green Coffee

Ingredients

Green coffee beans whole

Water

Sugar if needed

Method 1: Using Ground Coffee

Step 1: Grind the Coffee

Grinding the coffee increases its surface area to volume ratio. This means the caffeine is extracted faster from the coffee when you add in the hot water. Without grinding the beans, it would take you hours to get the desired amount of caffeine. Use a hard grinder as grinding unroasted coffee beans is even harder than normal ones.

Step 2: Add in the Water

Add your coffee water to your cup and pour in one cup water. Let that sit for a few minutes.

Step 2: Filter

Filter the coffee grounds from the coffee using a sieve. The filtered brew is your cup of coffee.

Step 3: Add in Your Sugar or Spices

People don’t drink green coffee with milk or creamer. However, if you want something sweet, you can add sugar, honey, or other spices to your coffee.

Method 2: Using Whole Beans

Step 1: Buy the Best Quality Coffee Beans You Can Find

Since green coffee is drunk without milk or creamer the quality of coffee beans you use is very important. The slightest change in taste due to quality will be very noticeable.

Step 2: Soak the Coffee Overnight

Add in the 30 g of raw beans and 300ml to a bowl and let the coffee soak overnight. Since whole coffee has a smaller surface area it takes a long time for the caffeine to be extracted from the coffee.

Step 3: Heat the Mixture

The morning after, pour that mixture into a saucepan. Wait for it to come to a rolling boil and then allow it to simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Stir it occasionally.

Step 4: Strain the Coffee Beans

Using a sieve, strainer, or muslin cloth, separate the coffee beans from the liquid. The resulting brew is your green coffee.

Step 5: Dilute the Coffee

This method of leaving the coffee to soak overnight makes it very concentrated in caffeine. We recommend you don’t consume the coffee by itself. Instead, take a small amount of this coffee concentrate and dilute it with water for every cup.

Step 6: Store Properly

The coffee that you don’t consume can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Be sure to consume the coffee in three days.

Nutritional Content

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Green Coffee

Benefits

It Has More Chlorogenic Acid

When coffee beans are roasted, they lose chlorogenic acid. This acid has a lot of benefits for the body. For instance, it is said to reduce blood pressure by targeting the blood vessels. Chlorogenic acid also prevents diabetes and cancer. In addition, the acid is very beneficial for weight loss and improving mood. It also helps reduce inflammation in the body, especially the skin, which makes it beneficial for problems like acne and eczema.

It Has a Milder Taste

Since most of the bitter flavors we associate with coffee come from roasting, if you were to drink green coffee, you initially might not even believe it is coffee. The coffee is very light and mild, even more so than iced coffee, and different from roasted coffee. Some people also say green coffee is grassy, and it can be very thick when it is made properly. The coffee is also a light green or light reddish color. Most people associate green coffee with green tea, and while the flavor profiles are similar to green tea, they are not quite the same. Green coffee is also more acidic in comparison.

More/Similar Caffeine

According to some sources, there is a difference between the caffeine contents of green coffee and unroasted coffee. The primary factor in this decrease in caffeine is roasting. When the beans are roasted they are said to lose some of their caffeine. This is why light roast has more caffeine than dark roast.

Other studies however claim that there is no change in the caffeine content of coffee beans before and after roasting. That is to say, a cup of green coffee will have the same amount of caffeine as a cup of black coffee. This would be about 80-100mg of caffeine per 8 ounces up according to the FDA.

Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure, you’re not missing out on caffeine by drinking green coffee. Instead, you are benefiting from the additional health benefits. Isn’t that one of the best benefits of green coffee?

Green Coffee Helps Reduce Cholesterol

There are two types of cholesterol in the human body, good cholesterol, and bad cholesterol. HDL (good cholesterol) levels have increased inpatient consuming extract taken from green coffee regularly. There was also a decrease in the LDL (bad cholesterol levels) in the patients. You can read more about the research here.

Green Coffee Reduces Chances of Diabetes

Studies prove that green coffee affects the lipid profiles in the body, as well as the triglyceride levels, and glucose levels in the blood. All of these are important to reduce the risks of Type II diabetes. In addition to that, antioxidants in coffee help increase insulin sensitivity and metabolism in the body. This ensures the body burns and stores a lot of the glucose in the blood.  Insensitivity to insulin and metabolic syndrome are two of the most common causes of diabetes in people.

Green Coffee Reduces Hypertension

Hypertension also called high blood pressure, is the cause of a lot of different heart-related issues. However, a cup of green tea is effective in reducing blood pressure in the body by targeting the blood vessels in the body. However, you should always consult your doctor if you experience a prolonged increase in blood pressure. This could be very serious and you might need more than just green coffee to reduce your blood pressure.

Green Coffee Can Prevent Chronic Diseases

Diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and liver problems, all of these can be prevented by consuming green coffee daily. All of these diseases affect human life severely, and if you’re looking for all you can know about green coffee, its ability to improve the quality of life should be mentioned. The antioxidants in green coffee help combat multiple cancers like skin cancer, and even more severe ones like colon, liver, breast, and lung cancer.

The antioxidants in the coffee can also help fight neurodegenerative diseases. Most of the benefits of green coffee are similar to those of coffee. You can read more about them here-

Coffee Helps Boost Metabolism

Supplements made of green coffee extracts have been sold in the market for weight loss for a very long time. The most popular seller of these supplements was the American TV show, Mr. Oz. Several studies show that green coffee was even better for weight loss than placebos were. However, while it is true that green coffee helps boost metabolism, its effects on weight loss need more research before they are credible.

Drawbacks

Can Cause Issues With People With Hypertension

We mentioned above that green coffee reduces blood pressure. However, caffeine increases blood pressure. When you drink green coffee, you drink both chlorogenic acid and caffeine. These chemicals have opposite effects and can cause damage in the long term. We recommend you talk to a doctor before regularly consuming green coffee if you suffer from hypertension.

Too Much Caffeine Is Bad for You

Green coffee has either the same amount of caffeine or more caffeine than normal coffee. Too much caffeine in the diet is extremely problematic. It can lead to an increase in stress, anxiety, blood pressure, and even cause problems in sleep. Being unable to get proper sleep harms your health, and the side effects related to caffeine are the worst drawbacks of green coffee.

Green Coffee May Effect Bone Health

One of the drawbacks of green coffee is its negative effect on your bones. A study published in the US proves these harmful effects of coffee consumption on bone health. Mice were given green coffee regularly and the effects of the coffee on their bones were recorded after a fixed time. You can read more about the research here.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Green Coffee- Table

Conclusion

People have been consuming green coffee in tablets and capsules for a long time to benefit from its abilities. However, we recommend you consume the coffee in the brewed form. After all, if you’re going to put in so much effort in consuming the beans might you might as well enjoy them. It might not taste like conventional coffee, but we assure you, green coffee has a unique taste you might come to enjoy too. It’s not for everybody, but worth a try. You shouldn’t shy away from the coffee because it is a little different. After all, now you know all your need to know about green coffee.